The Mystery of Clark Kent
by Nevaratoiel
Summary: Lois decides to spend some time with her 'ex'partner Clark Kent and joins him when he goes home to Smallville for the weekend. She might find out more about him than she expected... Rating & genre might change in the future. For updates check my profile.
1. Chapter 1

_July 24, 2012: Corrected some minor errors, nothing major, no changes to the storyline._

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><p><em>December 18, 2011: I found some errors when I was rereading this chapter, and I wasn't happy with some of the descriptions, so I made minor changes, but not enough to change the course of the story, if you have already read this chapter.<em>

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><p><em>Author's Note: I started thinking about this story some years ago, after Superman Returns was released to the cinemas. And thus I started writing some time ago, but until now I never really got anywhere, which is, basically, why it took me 5 years to post anything. At first I didn't like Superman having a son, but the idea grew on me, and while I still think it was a rather complex plot, I've given it a place.<em>

_Having said that, I'm not looking forward to Man of Steel, which seems to deviate even more from the original Superman, Lois being a red head and the suit having changed to the point of being unrecognisable. But enough about that. This is my thoughts of what happened after Superman Returns. I'm still not really happy about it all, but it's getting there and I'm confident enough to finally post this._

_Be patient with me; I'm NOT a regular updater. I try to keep the flow coming, but I'm an impulsive writer. One moment I just keep on writing and before I know there are ten pages of story, and another moment I can only get two or three sentences on paper._

_To be utterly honest, I have not a definite goal I'm working towards. I may, or may not, have Clark reveal himself, or Lois finding out about him. For now, I'm just trying to write the relationship between Clark and Lois, Superman and Lois, even Lois' relationship with Richard and Jason, but also Perry White and Jimmy Olsen will fit in somewhere. Even his mom (and Ben Hubbard to some extent) will have her place. So it can go anywhere. Sounds like not a lot of Clark, but he'll be one of the mains. If you have a good idea for a direction, I'm open for suggestions. But otherwise, I'm sure I'll figure it out._

_Let me know what you think. I am looking for a BETA-reader, so if you're interested, yes please, and thanks._

_Feedback is always appreciated._

_On with the story!_

**-The Mystery Of Clark Kent-**

She felt sorry for him.

He had been back eleven days and she had all but ignored him. Of course, she reasoned to herself, she had been very busy with Superman also coming back from his travels to Krypton, or what was left of it, and him suddenly appearing made her feel uncomfortable and insecure. It had made her doubt and question her relationship with Richard, then being kidnapped, together with Jason, Superman rescuing them, and the other way around. But what had confused her most was when she had visited him in the hospital. She had never seen him this way. Superman just did not get hurt. But he was really laying there in the hospital bed, and for just a moment he seemed so very human. She had seen him in pain when she pulled out the Kryptonite shrapnel from his back. But nothing had her prepared for the sight of him there, comatose, almost fragile. Secretly she had hoped he would not hear the words she said to him; that Jason was his son. But he had, and it complicated things further.

And Clark? Clark had come back at the wrong time, and for the most part was left out of all of it. But Clark was Clark; he always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sweet Clark, who was a reporter in his own right, and a good one at that, was not like any other man she knew. He was quiet, always friendly, and all but invisible to everyone. She did not think people even noticed when he left five years ago. He had been very secretive about it, and the only thing he had said was that he would go on a trip to find himself, whatever that meant. But it was good to have him back, to say the least, now sitting a few desks away instead of opposite of her, typing away almost frantically. Probably some boring article, she reasoned. Ever since he had returned Perry had given him small assignments, to get him back in the game as the editor in chief had explained.

As if he had a sixth sense he looked up to meet her eyes, and gave her a typical cheeky Clarkish grin, as he raised his hand in a rather goofy wave. Then he went on with his typing. She had initially wondered if it was possible for a human to type that fast, but after a while she had decided it was just the way it was, and it was one of the few things, she knew of, Clark was talented at.

She stood up from her own desk and walked towards the farm-raised man. He did not notice her coming, which was obvious from the way he flinched when she laid a hand on his chair. His hands immediately stilled.

"Hey Smallville," she started, casually leaning on the backrest of his chair.

He turned around in his seat to face her, those piercing blue eyes curious, a bit shaken. She thought she saw him wince, though she had no idea why.

"H-hi Lois," he stammered, giving her a shy smile.

She leaned forward to see what he was typing. It seemed to be an article about a press conference. And she had wondered where he had been all morning. If he started to go back to the sudden disappearances and lame excuses, she would not be amused.

She hmmed. "Well, that's interesting? What's the deal on that?"

Clark's attention turned back to his screen. "It was a briefing on what plans they have concerning renovating the buildings that were damaged during the creation of Luthor's new island. It was pretty interesting."

She barked a short laugh, causing a few heads to turn their way.

"Come on, Clark, you're not going to tell me you like the assignments Perry's giving you."

He sighed and pressed the 'Save' button. Lois had sat down on the edge of his desk as he looked up to her.

"N-no, it's not what I would like. But for now, it's good enough." He stood up, leaning heavily on the desk. And again Lois thought she saw him wince.

"So, um..." She studied him closely as he straightened, then turned back to face her. "How've you been? I mean, glad to be back? Oh, have you found a place to live yet?"

He looked a bit ruffled by the train of questions, not certain where to start. He shrugged slightly.

"Yeah, um, I'm, I'm fine. A bit of a culture shock really, from where I've been by myself." He gathered together some sheets of paper that were scattered all over his desk and put them into a nice pile, before cleaning up the rest, and shutting off his computer. Then he picked up his coat as he looked around for his suitcase. Lois noticed it standing below where her feet were dangling from the desk. She picked it up and handed it to him. She thought she saw some relief cross his features.

"Where are you off to? It's only three," she asked, for a moment not letting go of the handle, unconsciously willing him to stay where he was. He did not resist.

"Um, Mr. White gave me the afternoon off. I... I found an apartment, and I can move in tomorrow. I'm going back home today to get my stuff."

"You need any help?" Lois offered. Since they had not talked to each other much since he had been back, this was the perfect opportunity to spend some time together. And since Richard was out of town and Jason with her mother, she had nothing on her hands.

He seemed to hesitate. The look on his face changed from questioning to some form of suspicion, as if he was not sure what to think of the offer.

"You... want to help... me?" He nervously pushed his glasses up his nose. She had come to know that as an unconscious quirk, especially when he was nervous.

"Of course I want to help you! I mean, I've known you longer than almost anyone around here. We were partners, remember?" Lois wondered why it was so hard for Clark to understand she wanted to make that connection, the one they had the years prior to his leaving, again. And why it was so hard for him to accept she had no ulterior motive.

"Come on, Clark," she continued. "I want to spend time with you. You're my friend."

His expression turned blank, and he just stood there, coat half on, staring at her.

"And," she continued. "I might learn more about the mystery of Clark Kent."

"Mystery?" he choked out and she just smiled. "Wait? You want to come with me to Smallville?"

Lois just nodded.

"Okay, let me get this straight: You want to go with me... Sit six hours in a bus without air-conditioning, stay at my mother's farm and then drive back another five hours back to Metropolis, _and_ help me out moving into my apartment?"

"Yep, you got it!" Lois almost laughed at his expression. It was somewhere between horror and shock. "You're not afraid I may find out too much about you, are you?"

He seemed to gather his bearings and vehemently shook his head. "Oh, no no no! Not at all! I mean, there's just not much to do there..."

"Clark."

"And I'll be very busy..."

"Clarrrrk—"

"And it's not what you're used to, and..."

"Clark!"

"But..." he protested.

Lois sighed, deeply, before continuing. "I'll be fine. Don't worry so much. There's no specific motive, other than spending time with you, and it might even do me some good. Get out of the city; go back to basic, in the middle of nowhere..."

"You're sure?" He still sounded doubtful.

"Yes."

And he still looked at her in that strange Clark way. She never knew exactly what this 'Clark way' of looking was, but she could recognise it as soon as she saw it. It slightly reminded her of a frightened deer caught in the headlights of a car.

"O-okay, then." If Lois had something in her head she got it, either way. "I guess I'll be leaving within the hour, so if you can be ready at, say, four at the latest, in front of the Planet."

Lois mockingly saluted. "Yes, Sir!"

Clark put on his coat all the way and turned towards the exit of the bullpen. Now she could definitely see it; he walked with a slight, but distinguishable limp.

Clark!" Lois called out. He turned and she saw him frown as he did so.

"Are you okay?"

"Um, yes, I'm fine. Why?" She raised his eyebrows and made a face.

"What's up with your leg?"

Then it dawned on him and he shifted. "Well, you know, that earthquake thing, I was outside getting news on the black-out and I got hit by some debris." He let a moment pass before adding; "On my back."

"Doesn't look good if you ask me. Have you seen a doctor?"

He looked around, as if looking for some support, but obviously he found none.

"Uh... yeah, I did."

"And...?"

"H-he said, it was nothing to worry about... Um... It would just be sore for, uh, a couple of days."

_Why do I get the feeling he's making the whole story up?_ Lois thought. Years before she had mentioned once he could take up another job in acting. They had both laughed about it, then. She had to admit to herself he had not made much excuses since he had gotten back. He seemed to take his job more seriously than before and worked over-time almost every night.

She shrugged, and then turned to walk to Perry White's office. She still had to ask the chief editor to have the afternoon off. Knowing that she never took any time off, and the fact that she had a rough week, she knew he would not make much of a fuss about it.

"Alright Clark, see you in a bit," she called over her shoulder as he made his way to the lift.

He had to admit, of course only to himself, the stab wound still hurt. It had been over a week and, honestly, he had expected it to have healed. True, the wound was gone; it had been sealed when he left the hospital, though it was still red and bruised. But the pain just would not go away. The excuses he had to make, a few times over the last week, were starting to weary him. Speaking of weary, he had never felt so tired, if he did not count the day he arrived back on earth. It had been good to sleep in his own bed in Smallville again.

But coming back to the Daily Planet was a whole different story. Lois Lane had a son... and engaged to be married, no less! From day one he was rather fond of Jason, and Richard, too, seemed to be a fair man and Clark had difficulties not liking him. That was the kind of man Lois would lean to. Not the clumsy nerd character he had adapted for himself. He was the best friend, not the lover. Before he left he had more or less accepted it, and tried to spend as much time with the petite reporter as he could without being labelled a stalker or coming on too strong. But back then she was single, and now that she was engaged he was sure it would be very hard to spend a weekend together, even if that weekend was spent at his mother's. But he had not seen his mother since he had 'checked' out of the hospital, though he had called. A little bit of parental smothering could not be so bad.

It did not take him long to get his things together. True, he had been living out of two suitcases for a week and a half. So, he stashed all his belongings in them, checked out of the hotel and made his way towards the Daily Planet.

She still had 45 minutes before she was supposed to be there, and he half hoped she would not show up. He had said yes to her proposition, but, truth be told, he did not want her to come. It was not fear of her discovering his secret; he had left that a long time ago. If she would find out, which she did before, she would find out anyway. He just was not going to help her unravel the mystery.

No, he was not afraid of that. He could not pinpoint what the reason for his anxiety really was. Perhaps it was the worry he could not be truly himself in his own home. Or perhaps... No, he could not think of anything else. He knew he should stop worrying and just accept the fact that when Lois set her mind to something she would get it done. And Clark's greatest weakness was this woman, Lois Lane.

And so he sat down on one of the benches outside of the Planet, waiting for the woman that made his mind work like crazy. So many doubts, so many insecurities... He really needed to stop thinking, or he would, he had decided, be institutionalised. Sometimes it seemed like it. How many people had three identities? Certainly not any he knew.

His thoughts were interrupted by someone calling his name. He looked up to see Lois waving her hand in front of his face.

"Earth to Clark," she said. "Penny for your thoughts?" She tilted her head as one would when talking to an excited puppy.

Clark blinked. "Oh, sorry Lois, I was just... it was nothing." He waved it away with a hand gesture and stood up, automatically picking up his suitcases. Then he looked at the clock. Almost four.

"I think we can still make the bus of four pm." He pointed to the bus stand about a hundred feet away. They both walked towards it, first Clark, followed by Lois.

"Say, why don't we take the car?" the petite reporter started, as she tried to keep up with Clark's long stride. "I mean, since Richard is out of town, I could've easily driven you there."

"Y-yeah, I know," Clark stammered. "But you see, I need to bring back my stuff, and that won't fit into your car."

"Oh... Oh well, let's get on, this is going to be lo—ng ride."

He sighed and rolled his eyes as Lois got on the bus. "You can say that," he mumbled almost inaudibly as he, too, got on.

**...To Be Continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

_July 24, 2012: Corrected some errors, and changed some minor conversational text, but nothing to change the story._

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><p><em>Author's Note (December 18, 2011): I'll keep it fairly short. You may notice I switch between character views a lot. If it bothers you I'll try to keep it to a minimum, but otherwise I'll just assume it's fine and keep on doing the way I'm doing it.<em>

_I'm surprising myself every time these days... Two chapters in the span of... about two weeks? I may even become a regular updater. Umm... on second thought... not. Hehe... sorry, as I said, it comes and it goes._

_Oh yeah, if you've read the initial chapter when I posted it on the 5th; I've uploaded it again, removed some errors, added some minor details, that are not essential to the story, but I just read it over and it bothered me._

_Oh well, onto the next chapter._

It was almost ten thirty when they arrived at the bus stop, where Clark indicated they had to get off. They had not spoken much on the journey, just idle chit-chat every now and then. _But_, Lois thought, _what _do_ you say to a man you didn't really know before and who left for such a long time?_ What did you say indeed? Perhaps she should have asked him to elaborate on his trip around the world, all the things she had not asked before, which was normal to ask if you had any interest in another person's life. Lois never _was_ one to keep her attention to one thing for a longer period of time. She was always being side-tracked, which more often than not got her in trouble. She would just have to ask him later.

"How far is it?" she asked, as Clark unloaded their luggage from the bus. "Wow Clark, you really need to find a faster transportation. I think we transferred like, what, four times?"

"Actually, only three." She did not see him smile knowingly.

"Fine, three then. I don't even feel my butt anymore."

"Well, we're almost there now," he said and started walking along the road with both his and her suitcases.

_Strange,_ she thought. He did not even seem bothered by them. Then she grinned._ I wonder what they feed him here._ And she had to mentally slap herself for having these kinds of thoughts. This was Clark 'Smallville Farm Boy Dork' Kent.

"Lois, are you coming?"

She gathered her thoughts together and hurried to catch up with him. "Oh yeah, coming!"

They walked on some kind of dirt road for what seemed ages, and Lois wondered where he was leading her. All she saw was corn, corn and corn. Oh yes, there was also something that looked, to Lois' untrained eye, like some sort of wheat.

"Tell me again why we took the bus all the way, instead of taking the train and just transferring somewhere nearby?"

She could definitely hear him sigh; again, as he had done the first twelve times she had asked him that. Then he turned around with a look on his face that spoke volumes of how he felt about Lois' complaining. Lois realised it was the first time she had ever seen him annoyed.

"Because," he started, accentuating the word as if he were trying to make a child, who asked too many questions, listen carefully to what he was saying. "I'm... not comfortable flying. Those seats are not made for people my size. Besides... we would've had to take the bus anyway."

_Wow_, Lois thought. That did not sound like the stuttering and bumbling geek at the office and she only now noticed he even walked more confident and straighter and the suit looked even more oversized. There was still the slight limp, and she wondered if she should convince him to have her look at it. But, immediately, deciding against it. That was probably more something for his mother to do.

And suddenly she realised something. She was actually going to meet his mother! He had not talked about her much... Well, actually, he had not talked about her at all. He just mentioned her the very first day he had arrived at the Planet, after being hired by Perry, after he had spilt soda all over his three piece suit. She remembered something about half a check he wanted to have sent to a certain address, which he explained was for his mother, in a dump called Smallville. She grinned. She had made up the 'dump' part. _That_ she remembered well enough.

She would make fun of him in her mind. And if people had actually been able to look inside it, they would have thought she had to have been mad. It had been especially bad when Perry had assigned them together on their first co-op article. The names she had made up in her mind. Every time he would say 'Gosh', 'Golly', 'Gee Whiz' or 'Swell' she had weird conversations in her head about little old silver haired ladies, talking about how swell the bingo night had been, or whatever would pop into her head.

But as Clark had 'proved' himself as a respectable writer, not to mention super fast typist, and a fine journalist the little funny thoughts she had about him just stopped. Not overnight, but it seemed like that. She just, one morning, suddenly realised they were gone. He had become a friend, too. A good friend, but back then she would have never admitted that. Lois Lane just simply did not have friends. She was a workaholic without a private life, living for the scoop, the front page and the Pulitzer.

And Clark had proved to be her steady rock. He always knew what she needed, without her having to ask. Come to think of it; he would always be there when she needed him, but never when she wanted it. It was rather funny, and she snickered softly.

And ran into the back of the man she had been musing about.

"Wha—? Clark! What are you doing? Can't you watch where you stop?"

"We're here," he simply said.

Rubbing her nose she moved her head around his broad back to catch a glimpse. Before her there was an old house, though it looked like it was fairly maintained. It was not big, but it was very much the farm house as she had in her imagination a farm house would look like.

"Wow..." was her initial reaction, voicing her reaction earlier. "You... live here?"

"Sort of. Only when I'm visiting my mother, of course." He had a faraway look on his face, Lois noticed.

Then he turned to look directly upon her and spoke again; "Let's go. I'm sure my mother would love to meet you," He picked up his step again, and Lois automatically followed him.

Yes, she was sure his mother would love to meet her. If she was capable of raising her mild-mannered colleague the way he had become, then she had to be a very welcoming woman. He had not told anyone much about his mother, only that she was silver haired and living on a farm on her own after his father died. Other than that, she hardly knew anything.

They arrived at the door of the house at the end of the driveway. Surprisingly, to Lois at least, it was open. In Metropolis you could not leave your door open. Within half an hour all your things would be gone.

"Mom!" Clark called.

Within seconds an old woman, with silvery hair tied to a bun, came all but running towards them, sweeping Clark in a big hug.

"Oh Clark, my son! Goodness you're alright."

"Eh, mom..." he almost moaned. "You're crushing me."

She let him go and turned towards Lois standing behind him. He cleared his throat and also turned around. "I want you to meet Lois—"

"Lane, nice to meet you Mrs. Kent," Lois interrupted and held out her hand. But Clark's mother would have none of it. Instead she also, unexpectedly, enveloped Lois in a friendly hug.

"Oh, call me Martha, my dear." She moved to the side and motioned for them to come further. "Please, come in. I understand you had a long trip." When both the reporters did not move, she walked to the living room herself. Clark let Lois pass, being the gentleman, and Martha smiled to herself. She could well imagine how her son would act in the office. But his nervousness in Lois' presence was not entirely faked. She motioned for Lois to sit down as she picked up a tray from the table.

"Would you like something to drink? Maybe something to eat?"

Lois looked at Clark, uncertainly. He faced her, and then turned to his mother. He shook his head slightly. "No thanks." Then he turned his attention back to his partner. "But, if you want, Lois, y-you can have some. I'm sure mom has some of her famous lemon pie."

Martha smiled. "Of course I have, I made one this morning, knowing you were coming."

Lois shrugged. "I guess I'm a bit hungry. I would love to Mrs. Ke—I mean, Martha." She gave Clark a questioning look as the older woman walked into the kitchen, as if she wanted to say; 'Now what?' But he just stood, face unreadable.

"Wow, this is a... uh... lovely house," Lois said after a rather uncomfortable silence. She could hear Martha rummaging in the kitchen. And Clark, well, he just stood there, in the centre of the room, looking very uncomfortable. She did not think she could remember him ever that uncomfortable. But, then again, it was not every day you had the amazing Lois Lane in your mother's house. She snickered from the inside, careful not to let her co-worker show. This was just too funny.

He braced himself. "Uh, yeah, well, I'd be the first to say it's a bit, umm..." he stuttered.

"Old-fashioned?" Lois finished for him. She saw him frown. Apparently not the word he was looking for. But he gave it a thought; she could see the wheels turning in his head, figuratively of course. And after a moment he slowly nodded.

"Not the first thought on my mind. But I... I guess that's a word..." he said. He looked around as if for the first time realising perhaps it _was_ old-fashioned. But he shrugged it off and turned towards the kitchen.

"Um... I'll be right back. I-I'm going to see if I can help my mother with something."

And he was gone; leaving Lois on the couch that looked like it has arisen from the sixties, in a house that looked like it was from the same time frame. A house that oddly enough, or not so oddly enough, seemed to fit the persona of dorky Clark Kent. And so she chuckled.

"Can I help you with something, mom?" Clark asked as he came to stand next to his mother. Martha turned, startled by his sudden appearance. She looked deep into his unnaturally blue eyes and frowned.

"You don't look well, Clark."

"I don't feel well, mom."

She cupped his face in her hands and sighed as she examined him. The pallor of his skin was worrying her, the dilation of his pupils, the strained stance. He was definitely not fine. "You can't possibly know how much I worried for you. And when you were in the hospital... I couldn't even see you."

"I know." He hated it to have his mother worry for him. He knew that was a mother's prerogative to worry, but he was Superman. He was supposed to care for others, helping and protecting people. The fact that one piece of meteor stone could have such an effect on him, make him weak, make his mother so afraid, and that he needed to be taken care of by others. Superman was an icon and did not get hurt.

He closed his eyes and let his mother's hands move towards where the wound had been. And when she lifted his shirt to look at it, and then touched it, he hissed.

"I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to hurt you."

But he shook his head slightly. "No, it's fine."

He was glad he was not able to see the look on his mother's face when she saw what was left of the wound. He knew what it looked like, and it was hot to the touch.

"Oh Clark, I can't imagine how much pain you must've been in. Does it still hurt much?" She softly palpated the area and heard him hold his breath. She apologised for the second time. "I wish there was something I could do."

"There's nothing you can do," he hissed. "I don't even know what to do. I suppose it needs time."

Martha pulled down his shirt again. "We'll talk about it later." She picked up the plate with the piece of lemon pie and started towards the living room, where Lois was waiting. "We cannot let our guest wait, eh?" She smiled wryly to her son.

"I'll be there in a second," he said, recovering from the recent pain. The room was starting to tilt.

"Don't forget the coffee!" Martha called out from the hall.

His mother, always the perfect host. And she made sure he would never forget it.

**...To Be Continued...**

_A little side/end-note: I know it's a bit slow, but it's getting better... Well, I hope. Bear with me and suggestions and comments are **always** welcome! I only got one review on the first chapter. I really want to know what you think!_


	3. Chapter 3

_July 24, 2012: Corrected some minor errors._

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><p><em>Author's Note (January 11, 2012): Happy New Year everyone! I know I'm a bit late in saying that, but it's meant just as much. And a day longer, because FFnet wouldn't let me update last night when it was officially done-ish...<em>

_Sorry for the long time without updating. As expected I had some bumps in the road while writing this 'chapter'. I know where I want to go next, but this chapter turned out to be too slow (for my liking at least). And the road to the actual happenings can be —(insert swear words here)— hard, which is what I'm experiencing. So, again, sorry for the lack of action. I really need time to establish something. Hopefully in the future the 'chapters' will be longer too. At least, I'm working on that, but when it takes too long it's better to post something than wait, I reckon._

_A big thank-you to Samantha for betaing._

**-The Mystery of Clark Kent-**

The night went as well as it could be expected with Lois in the house. He could tell she tried to be polite and tried not to ask too many questions. Then again, Lois never was one for idle chitchat... most of the time at least. But she genuinely seemed to enjoy herself. She politely answered Martha's questions, and when the questions turned to the subject of her son she just kept on talking. Yes, Jason was everything to her.

"He is such a bright young boy," she said. "They've just started to teach him math at school and he already knows most of the things they're teaching him, like subtraction. The teacher even asked me if it's alright to give him some extra homework. I'm so proud of him."

Martha nodded. "I can imagine. No doubt he has the best of both his parents." She looked to her son, seated opposite of her. She knew. She had seen Lois and Jason, coming out of the hospital. And she had recognised the same blue eyes, the same unruly hair when Clark himself had been a little boy. She had not told him she had her suspicions, but the way he stiffened their eyes met confirmed it.

Lois stiffened as well and seemed to struggle with a reply. But Martha let it go and changed the subject. "So, how is Clark doing at work? Are you working together again?" She had to stifle a laugh when she saw both reporters relax visibly, almost sighing with relief. Lois regained her bearings and talked about all the things that had happened and how she was glad he was back, and how they were not working together yet, but in the near future she would like that.

Clark did not say anything, he had been silent all evening after their little talk in the kitchen. At some point he had problems keeping his eyes open. He really tried to follow the conversation, but he kept drifting. The bus ride had been hell; his back was stiff, and the lack of conversation with Lois during the six hour long trip did not help much. He had not been able to keep his mind off all the things that had happened in the last week and a half.

This was a reoccurrence every night and even prevented him from doing his job as Superman properly. He had made himself scarce the week after the Luthor ordeal. And the press seemed to have noticed. They expressed their worry for him and analysed his every move. Now was the latter a regular and especially since he returned, but now they tried to get a good look at him to see if they could see anything amiss. And so he had tried to make his rescues as quickly as possible, not giving them the chance to ask him questions or get him on camera at all.

During the day it was all more bearable, but as soon as the sun would set he would feel completely miserable. It was not just the pain of the stab wound, he would feel sick to the stomach, and a killer headache would keep him occupied. Everything just seemed to hurt, some nights more than others. And up until now, this night, everything did not seem to be so bad.

Although he was not really aware of the subject of conversation and the headache had increased to the point where the room was spinning like a rollercoaster, he did notice his mother keeping an eye on him, while in the meantime sticking to her conversation with Lois... who had absolutely not an inkling of the hell he was going through. He had managed to keep it to a minimum at work. And it had also helped she only saw him during the day, despite the overtime he had made all week long.

After what felt like many hours, which in fact was only one hour or so, Clark tried to stand up, with some success at appearing semi normal. Or so he thought.

"I-I don't want to disturb you ladies, but..." He tried to look at Lois, or at least what looked like Lois through the permanent tilt in his vision. "... I'm heading for bed."

Martha also stood up. "Are you alright, son?" She had noticed his complexion growing paler during the evening and had wondered several times if he would pass out on them. No such thing had happened, but it appeared he would any given moment.

He held himself steady leaning on the back of the chair he had been seated on. He rubbed his temple and forehead and nodded slightly. "Yeah, I'm-I'm just... really tired. Sleep would do me well." Then he moved to the staircase, trying to walk straight, but hands constantly hovering over things he could grab if his balance should fail him. Fortunately, he reached the stairs without incident and dragged himself upwards.

Behind him, his mother still stood as both she and Lois watched him make his way upstairs.

"Martha?" Lois voice came from behind. Martha turned around and saw the other woman wear a frown. She smiled to lighten up the mood, which had now been dampened. No doubt Lois had felt it too. "Is he okay?"

Martha seemed doubtful. "I'm not sure."

They heard the door to a room open and close, then something that sounded like some kind of squeak, and then nothing. Martha was very, very worried, but did not want to show it to Lois. Thus she sat down and hoped she sounded convincing when she said; "I'm sure all he needs is rest. It's been a big change from travelling to coming back to work. So you were talking about this article you wrote..."

At first Lois did not know how to react, but soon remembered what they were talking about before. She started explaining again, but not without sneaking a glance at the staircase. There was more going on with Clark and she felt destined to find out.

The next morning found Clark awake as early as he normally would be. Being raised on the farm he was used to getting up at sunrise. But while he normally would be next to his bed before his eyes had fully opened, today was a different day. His night had been fitful. He had woken up from dreams more than once. No, they were not dreams; nightmares would have been a better way to describe them. Every time he fell asleep it was the same. It was a replay of the events that happened a week ago. After rescuing the city from the earth quake he saved Lois, Richard and their son, _his_ son, from the yacht, and after he made sure they were fine he flew over to Luthor's island. And that's where the hell began. Being exposed to Kryptonite, tortured by those monsters that Luthor somehow managed to gather together, and then the worst; the biggest monster of all, Lex Luthor, stabbing him in the back with a Kryptonite shrapnel.

He had never known such pain. It felt like he was shred in two. He was surprised he had been able to get up after it and step backwards to fall from the edge of the Island, to get away from the Kryptonite infested island. But, unlike what really happened those days ago, in his dreams he was not saved. He plunged into the cold ocean water, and sunk deeper and deeper and deeper...

And that was where he woke up, gasping for air, body bathed in sweat. He felt feverish, or what he knew feverish was supposed to feel like and his heart was racing. He was not used to these sensations, but having grown up amongst people who did get these illnesses he knew the symptoms. But nothing could have prepared him for this.

He watched the alarm clock and saw it was already six. How he managed to lie there awake for an hour, he had no idea. With more effort than was normal he sat up, pushed the blankets down and swung his legs to the side of his bed. He shivered from the cold. Fortunately he felt better than last night.

Downstairs he heard the sounds of the coffee machine, and sighed. One nice thing about mornings at his mother's house was freshly brewed coffee. But first he had a quick shower and got dressed. As he headed towards the stairs he heard someone hum softly. Lois! He had forgotten she had come with her. He retrieved his glasses from the night stand in his bedroom and made his way back down.

She did not hear him come down. For a while he stood in the doorway and watched her do her things. She poured the coffee into a thermo tumbler and then into her own cup, added some sugar and stirred it through, all the while humming to herself. He had not seen Lois at peace like this.

After a while Clark decided to make himself known. He cleared his throat softly. Lois whirled around wildly, obviously being startled. "What the—? Hey, good morning, Clark. How are you feeling?"

"G-good morning. I'm... fine, thanks," he replied as he sat down at the counter.

She motioned her cup to him, if he wanted some coffee. He nodded. "Yes, please."

She poured the coffee and gave it to him. "Thanks." They both let silence fall between them.

"So..." Clark searched for something to say. This was kind of awkward and the headache did not help. "You're up early—"

"Oh yeah," Lois interrupted rather suddenly, falling into her rambling self. "That rooster, you should keel it. It has no notion whatsoever of normal people's daily morning schedules."

He had to grin at that. "Lois, a rooster crows at dawn. It can't help it has no knowledge on the tardiness of city folk."

"Ha... ha... Mock me all you want, Smallville. Look who's the tardy one today."

He was not going to dignify her with an answer on that. He sipped his coffee as he suddenly realised he had not seen his mother around. She was bound to be up by now.

"Have you seen my mother?" he asked her.

Lois looked pensive. "Uh, yeah I have. She left a little while ago, saying something about, um... Oh yeah, she had to get some groceries..." She trailed off. Then a thought struck her. "At this hour? What store is open this early? Wait, do you even have shops in Nowheresville?"

Clark had to keep a grin from showing. Of course she thought towns like this still lived in the Middle Ages. She had teased him consistently about it when he first started working at the Planet. She was not stupid, just somewhat ignorant when it came to certain things. He had stopped explaining a long time ago what it really was like.

"Oh," she went on. "I almost forgot. Your mom asked if you would take a look at the tractor."

Clark hmmed, unconsciously, mimicking Lois' response a day earlier.

Another silence followed, in which neither one of them knew what to say, both sipping their coffee.

"You... um, do you want me to show you around town?" Clark, once again the one to break the silence, suddenly spoke up. "Later," he added.

Lois looked shocked. "Town? This speck of land has an actual town?"

Clark sighed. "You better get dressed, I'll check the tractor."

Lois finished her coffee and walked towards the staircase. Clark just sat at the counter, sipping his own coffee.

She had just arrived at the bottom of the stairs when he suddenly turned his head towards her and she could feel his gaze upon her. She turned and looked him right in the eye.

"Lois," he started, drawling out her name. "Is that... my bathrobe?"

She chewed he lower lip in consideration. Then a shy smile came to her face; "Oh... is it?" she said before racing up the stairs.

Later, after Lois had a shower she went to check on Clark. She had seen him walk to the barn, but as far as she knew he had not come back yet.

This morning's conversation had been very awkward. He had come down and she hardly recognised him. She did not think she had ever seen him without his three piece suit and well-groomed hair. This morning he looked so different. He wore old, worn jeans, a t-shirt, and a blouse that had some old fashioned Scottish plaid design on it. His hair was positively a mess, even though he had obviously showered. She even thought she saw a little stubble, as if he had not shaved this morning. He had claimed he was feeling fine, but she had seen the way he walked, the way he moved, and his taut face and pale complexion. Clark Kent was _not_ fine.

As she walked into the barn, she saw him standing leaning against the tractor, hood up, seemingly staring at nothing. She leaned against the door frame watching him. He did not move. He just stood there, looking down at the inside of the tractor.

"You know..." she said, causing his head to turn suddenly towards her. "That thing is not going to fix itself by looking at it."

He gave her his best cheeky grin. "I already found what's broken. When we go into town, we can get it, or order it... if they don't have it in stock." He held up his hand, showing her some small part. "That is," he hesitated. "If you still want to go."

_Typically Clark_, Lois thought. Confident —_well, sort of_— one minute, insecure the next. She could never really read his mood, expect for goofy, goofier and goofiest, she mused. Come to think of it, she suddenly noticed he had not been acting goofy ever since they arrived to his mother's house. He had not been clumsy, had not dropped anything... Maybe there was more to Clark Kent than she had always thought.

"Of course, farm boy! Let's hit the town!"

**...To Be Continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

_July 24, 2012: Corrected some minor errors._

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><p><em>Author's Note (January 17, 2012): A—nd, we're back, with a slightly longer entry. I already had this chapter finished on Sunday, but I wanted to wait until my beta had time to read it. Which is all fine; it's not a paying job and some people do have lives (unlike me). But I waited two days, and I couldn't help but wanting this chapter to be up. So, here it is, <span>not beta-read<span>(so you may find errors that I've overlooked). I just didn't want you to wait too long..._

_I want to thank everyone who has reviewed. Really, it makes me_ want _to put up a new chapter, makes me want to keep writing, not just for your sake, but for my muse's sake too. The writing bug just kept biting me last week and I'm really happy that I got so much story done in such a short time._

_Well, here goes nothing. I hope once again you'll enjoy it. _:-D

_Remember: Reviews are love._

**-The Mystery of Clark Kent-**

Lois had to admit, Smallville's town centre was actually a proper one. It had shops, cafés, and restaurants; just about everything one needed. Clark had driven her in his rather old pick-up truck. Who knew mister I-take-the-bus-because-it's-better-for-the-environment had a his own car? Not to mention a driver's license! This trip had proved to be full of surprises already.

Clark showed her around the usual sight-seeing bits of the town, telling stories about how certain buildings had come to exist. There was much history for such a small town. They even had their own meteor shower, some twenty-odd years ago. He had told her, but flighty as she could be she had forgotten it right after he said it. Perhaps she should have brought her voice recorder with her. But immediately deciding against it; she was not on a business trip.

Around noon they went to one of two coffee houses that Lois had seen during her sight-seeing trip. It was a pleasant, little café, as one could only find in the most picturesque of towns, lots of photos in simple, but appropriate frames on the dark painted walls, sports prizes in a glass cabinet, and small tables with lowly lit lamps, which looked much like miniature chandeliers, hanging above them. It felt so town-like to Lois, and she started to understand why one would want to live in a town like this.

Even though it was lunch time, there were not many people enjoying coffee or meals in this particular coffee house. In Metropolis, she realised, all cafés and coffee shops were always packed, especially between twelve and two in the afternoon. Clark showed her a table at the window and they sat down opposite of each other. While Lois immediately dove into the menu to look what they offered to eat, Clark simply stared outside, suddenly drawn into a melancholic mood.

The last time he had sat down for lunch here, he could not even remember how long ago it was. No, that was not right. He knew exactly the last time he was here. It had been hours before he had left for Metropolis, when he gathered his belongings to move into his new apartment. He had sat here with his friends, Lana and Pete. It had been sort of a goodbye party, but the mood had been without a doubt dampened. And especially Lana had not taken it well. Though Metropolis was only hours away, they all knew he would not come back. Lana and Pete knew about his 'special abilities' and his Kryptonian heritage. They would keep his secret safe, they had promised to take it with them to their graves. Back then, he had thought the idea a bit morbid, but had appreciated it, a lot.

In order to maintain his Metropolis identity as the clumsy, mild mannered Clark Kent, he had to distance himself from any contact with his old life in Smallville, except for his mother of course. He could never distance himself from her. Also, as Superman, he had to stay clear of all other people from his past. They knew him so well in his younger years that they would possibly recognise him if he stayed in close contact with them. Yes, he had thought it through quite well, though at the time it had pained him a lot to leave all of this behind. When he left, he had vowed himself, never to return to the town that brought back so many memories. That was ten years ago.

But bringing Lois back with him to his home town had changed all that. She had shown genuine interest in him, and obviously wanted to get to know him better. He had, at first doubted if it was a good idea to bring her with him, but at her insistence had not been able to say 'no'. Ever since he met Lois, on that fateful day, the same day he had first shown himself as Superman, saving her from the helicopter accident, he had felt something special between the two of them. Even though Lois would make fun of him and swoon over his alter ego, they had been a great journalist team. Now, Lois would never admit it, but she knew klutzy Clark Kent brought out the best in her. And Clark knew it was the same the other way around. He wondered if she, besides Richard, obviously, had had another writing partner after he left.

"...having, Clark?"

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, and turned his thoughts back to the present, only to meet the curious stare of none other than the woman he had been thinking about.

"S-sorry?" he stuttered, this time without acting, unlike many other times, pushing the black framed glasses up his nose. For the first time since they had arrived in Smallville, Lois noted.

"Million miles away, aren't you?" Lois smiled, though her brows had turned into a frown.

He rewarded her with a small smile of his own. "Y-yeah, sorry about that."

"What were you thinking about?" She put away the menu and leaned her elbows on the table.

"I, uh, was thinking about, well, uh, it's been a long time since I've been back to town," he started, not certain how much to expose.

"Really?" She sounded genuinely surprised. Clark just nodded. His eyes were drawn back to the outside world, this time leaning his chin in his hand palm.

"I never thought I would ever, not in a million years, say this," Lois said, trying to get Clark back from his obvious pensive state. "But I'm actually pleasantly surprised. I always imagined a place called 'Smallville' to be... you know, dull, dusty... like going back fifty years in time."

He nodded again, but did not reply.

_So much for conversation_, Lois thought. Instead of pushing him, which was normally Mad Dog Lane's action tactic, she opted for just looking around, while her fingers searched for the menu again. She noticed that a lot of the pictures on the wall were high school photos, or at least it looked like they were, some new, some old. She wondered if they were added every year, or perhaps just 'special' years. She had never seen anything like it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a young woman, a waitress, probably somewhere in her late teens or early twenties, with long blonde locks, that reached halfway her back and striking green eyes, notepad and pen in hand.

"Can I offer you anything to eat? Or will it just be coffee?" She had a friendly smile, as she waited for the order.

Lois opened the menu again and scanned the contents. "Um, I think I'll have a long black, and, um... the Omelette Special. Yeah, that sounds like an idea. Clark?"

It took a little while before he realised she was speaking to him, but eventually he turned his gaze upon the waitress.

"Can I take your order, sir?" she asked politely, not a hint of the usual annoyance of having to wait a while and risk losing customers, as was typical in Metropolis. Another thing, Lois noticed, that was very different.

"Um, just coffee will be fine, thank you," he said after a while of consideration.

The waitress thanked them and walked back towards the counter to process the order.

"Just coffee?" Lois was all but flabbergasted. "We've walking around town all morning. Aren't you hungry?"

He shook his head slightly. "N-not really, Lois."

"You didn't eat anything this morning either. Are you alright?"

He noticed she was dead serious and gave her one of his famous grins. She was not put off, however, and laid a hand of his, while trying to catch his eyes. He met her intent gaze with one of his own. It was dangerous he knew. As Metropolis Clark, he never made direct eye contact, not even with the woman he spent most of his working-time with. He only did that as Superman. He knew his eyes were a unique shade of blue, almost unearthly. Well, it did help he was not an earthling, as his father once so aptly put it, a long time ago, in one of his famous speeches about the purpose of his adoptive son's being sent to earth, and the good he could do with his 'special abilities'. And he had seen the same colour in the eyes of his son, no, Lois' son, _their_ son.

"Clark, listen to me," Lois went on. "You have to take care of yourself. I know you're not a hundred percent, because of the... uh, accident. But you _have_ to take care."

He was adamant. "I'm fine."

Lois sighed, removing her hand from his. "Sure you are. Anyways, you can eat some of my omelette. I'll wager it's one of those huge meals I can't possibly eat all by myself." Then she grinned.

He knew she had meant what she said. It was what his mother would say. He had not been eating properly ever since he returned from the hospital. He did not need as much food as the rest of the people. But he _had_ to eat eventually. But just the thought of food made him nauseous.

The waitress then came back with the two coffees. "Here you go. I'll bring the omelette over as soon as the cook has it done, ma'am." They both thanked her.

Lois' attention was again drawn to the photos on the wall.

"Are these photos of the school you went to?" she asked, taking advantage of the moment she still had his attention.

He looked up to the photos too and nodded. "Yes, this is from my, uh, high school."

"Do you think they have a photo of you somewhere? I'd love to see how my nerdy partner looked like when he was like sixteen."

She had to stifle a laugh when she saw his expression. Did he really think she was _that_ insensitive? She had to ask his mother if she could see photos of young Clark. Then, after a moment he slowly stood up, as if stiff from sitting hours long in the same position. She could swear she saw him hold his breath before standing.

Clark scanned the photos. The ones near the window seemed to be the newest, which meant he had to go to the back to find the older ones, if they were still there. He walked all the way to back, to the wall on the farthest end. Lois impatiently followed him. And there it was, a group photo of his senior year at Smallville High. He looked at all his classmates of that year and briefly wondered what had happened to them. He did not notice Lois looking at him annoyingly.

"Clark?" A vaguely familiar male's voice said behind them. "Clark Kent, is that you?" He slowly turned, bumping rather hard into Lois who stood too close for comfort. He hissed in pain and his hand automatically went to his back. Then he looked up to meet the person who had called his name. It was a pleasant face; friendly grey eyes looked up to him, blonde hair slicked back from his face. A familiar face too.

And then it dawned on him. "Pete?"

"Oh my goodness, Clark! It's been ages!" They shook hands, while their shoulders met in a best-friends gesture. "How are you, man?"

Clark bit his lip, trying not to show that it hurt. "Y-yeah, I-I'm good, thanks," he stuttered.

"Come on, sit down, sit down." Pete motioned to both Lois and Clark. Hesitantly, Lois followed both men to the table Pete had taken place.

"Um," Clark tried to find words to say to the old friend he had not seen in such a long time. "Pete, what are you doing back here?"

Pete laughed. "I could ask you the same thing." Then he seemed to notice Lois for the first time. "And, who's this lady? She your girlfriend?"

Clark sputtered. "W-wh-what? No! I—She—"

"Lois Lane," Lois said, in a business-like voice, saving her colleague from completely embarrassing himself. Or so she reasoned. "I work together with Clark." She stuck out her hand for a handshake, and Pete gladly took it. But instead of shaking it, he gave it a gentle kiss. _Charmer, huh?_ Lois thought.

"Pete Ross, at your service." Pete sat back in his chair, sipping his coffee. "Miss Lane, you don't happen to be _the_ Lois Lane, star reporter of the Daily Planet?"

"That's me," she replied proudly. "_And_ Pulitzer Prize winner this year."

"My, my, that's quite an achievement. Of course you would take pride in that." Pete smiled slyly, and turned to Clark again. "Clark used to be my best friend when we were kids. Isn't that right, Clark?"

Lois noticed Clark's eyes widen at the mention of his name and looked between her and Pete, as if in shock. She had to stifle a laugh. Clark could be so self conscious at times.

"Um, yeah, we were," he agreed, uncomfortably shifting in his chair.

Suddenly Lois came to a revelation. "Wait a minute. Pete Ross, right?"

"Ye—s... " Pete drawled.

"Deputy Mayor Ross?" she added in a soft voice.

"Yes, ma'am," was the confirmation.

Lois slapped her hand on the table, a little too loudly causing the elderly couple on the other end and the waitress to snap looks at her. "I knew it! I knew that face was familiar."She pointed at him with her index finger. Both she and Pete did not notice Clark excusing himself to get the coffees from their original table.

"You know, I've been trying for days to speak to someone from the council about renovations to the city," she went on. "If I'd known you and Clark were so close, I just would've asked him. Why didn't you tell me you had a friend so high up, Smallville?" She turned to Clark, suddenly, as he just had come back, coffees in hand. He had same wide eyes again, as he stiffened at the mention. This time she couldn't stifle her laugh.

"I, uh, I-I, um... didn't know?" he tried. She gave him _the_ look that made many cringe in shame. Not Clark, never Clark, though he felt a bit intimidated now.

"Didn't know? Didn't _know_? Clark, you have to _use_ you connections! God, how long have you been a reporter?"She shook her head in unbelief.

Pete reached into his bag and held out a card. "You can reach me on this phone number. It's a direct number. I'll be back in town in about a week. Call me, if you still want the interview. I don't like to do business in my off-time."

"So..." Clark cut in, setting the coffee cups in front of him and Lois. "How's Lana?"

"Oh, she's fine. We've got two more mouths to feed, and she's pretty busy, balancing her job and home life. I'm a very busy man, so it all comes down to her."

"Wow..." Clark breathed. "Two children. I'm... very happy for you both." Clark fidgeted with a napkin that had been on the table, seemingly nervous about something.

"Thanks, bud," Pete said, honestly. "You should meet them sometime. You'd love them."

Clark hesitated. "I'm, um, not sure that's such a good idea." He noticed Lois looking at him strangely. He glanced at her, his eyes seeming to be saying '_What?_'. Lois rolled her eyes.

"Why not? You're so good with children. Jason adores you. And he's your old friend."

He gave her a wry grin. "N-no, it's... it's not that..." Then he looked at Pete for help.

"Oh, just say it. Lois,—if I may call you that—Clark and Lana, their past is a bit complicated, and they're not really buddy-buddy ever since he left Smallville."

"Oh." Lois studied Clark as he shifted again in his chair. She was learning more and more about this shy and timid man that worked with her.

"But," Pete continued. "I'm sure if you just talk, clear it up, it'll be fine. I know for a fact she was worried about you, when you were away on your... uh... world trip."

"She was?" There was definitely surprise in his voice.

"Yeah."

There was a lull in the conversation and Lois took that moment to stand up and excuse herself to the restroom.

As soon as she was out of sight, Pete leaned forward. "Sorry about that, man. She's too perceptive for her own good."

Clark scoffed. "Yes, she is. She's the best reporter I've ever known. Don't worry about it."

"How are you, by the way? I saw that fall, on the news. It didn't look good, and I was so worried about you." Clark could tell it was his friend talking, not the business man. Even after ten years he could still read him like an open book, he could tell Pete was genuinely worried. Even after all that happened when he had left town.

"I'm... better." It was not a complete lie, though not entirely the truth either.

"Though it was never confirmed officially, they said you were stabbed." Pete's voice was intentionally soft and low. "What happened?"

Clark told him the short of what happened with him and Lex Luthor, the island, Luthor's plan and how he was stabbed with Kryptonite.

Pete sighed deeply. "Man, that's tough. Does _she_ know? You know, about..."

Clark shook his head. "No. And it's best to keep it that way."

Pete understood. "Alright. Just make sure you take care of yourself. The world needs y—I mean, Superman."

Lois came back from her visit to the ladies room just in time to see the waitress bring her order, the omelette special. Two sets of eyes followed her, as she sat down and dug into her lunch.

"Alright! Let's eat!"

Both men exchanged looks of amusement, she noticed.

She shrugged. "What?"

**...To Be Continued...**


	5. Chapter 5

_July 24, 2012: Corrected some minor errors._

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><p><em>March 18,2012: Just corrected a few little things that I previously overlooked. But nothing to change the chapter.<em>

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><p><em>Author's Note (February 6, 2012): I hate this chapter. I'll probably rewrite it in the near future. My muse was having other thoughts and forced me to write another story, one that needed to get out before I could continue with this story. So, that's the main reason it took so long and you're getting a shabbier part. To me there's definitely something missing... My beta-reader's computer is still broken, again it's not beta-read, but I hope there aren't too many errors. If there are, please PM me and let me know!<em>

_The other story, also Superman related, will be next up and is my idea of Lois' thoughts about Clark and Superman leaving shortly after another... just not at the same time. It would make sense Clark thought about it before he really decided to go._

_Thanks again, everyone, for reviewing and I try to reply to your reviews. If not, I read them all. Thanks!_

**-The Mystery of Clark Kent-**

Meeting with Pete Ross had been a little strange at first. It was almost absurd a man of such stature knew Clark, no, was a good friend, and grew up in Smallville too! But Pete had proved to be a pretty funny guy. While Clark had been reluctant to show her the photos of his class, or even talk about his past, Pete did not seem to stop talking about it. Everything Clark did not say, Pete did. Lois was surprised by how these two completely different men could be friends. But the saying went: 'Opposites attract', and that seemed to be spot on the case here.

Lois was all ears, everything that made her understand her shy and silent partner was a step forward in their friendship.

"So, Pete," Lois started after Pete's endless train of words had finally stopped. "I understand those were really fun high school years, but what about Clark? I mean, you've been talking a lot of how the group seemed to be one and everything, but I was wondering..."

"Clark? Oh... Clark was always a bit different." Pete grinned. It was true. Clark had always been different, but not in the way that people suspected. And Pete had known from the first high school year what was really different about Clark, and why he had to pretend to be who he pretended to be. But he would not tell Lois about that, he had promised Clark never to reveal his secret. _That_ was the prerogative of the 'Man of Steel'.

"How, I mean, has he always been like—" She hesitated, not sure how to describe what she meant. "—this?" _Nerdy, clumsy, stuttering, too-good-to-be-real, bad sense of fashion_... She purposely did not mention those traits.

"Miss Lane—"

"_Please_ call me Lois. I thought we were past that?"

"Sorry, habit." He looked at Clark, who just shrugged. "Clark was just, well, Clark."

Lois had to laugh about that. It was the same thing she said to Richard about Clark that fateful day Superman returned to Metropolis. Apparently that was the best way to describe him.

"You are a true journalist, Lois. I feel like I'm being interviewed here."

"Yeah, sorry, that happens when you've been in the business for such a long time." She grinned.

Suddenly Clark stood up. "Oh, um... I need to go to-to get the spare part for the tractor, before the shop closes. Do you want to stay here, Lois, or..." He trailed off at the last part. When she looked at him oddly—he was not sure what she meant by the look—he added; "It's only a block or so away. If it still closes at three, I-I'd better hurry."

Lois checked her watch. Was it already _that_ late, she wondered? "Oh no, I'll go with you. You still need to pack, remember?"

Clark smiled wanly, then turned to Pete. "Um, it was good seeing you."

Pete extended his hand and offered a smile. "It was good seeing you too, man." Clark took the hand and grabbed his old friend by the shoulder, and Pete returned the gesture. As they leaned close, Pete whispered; "Don't let this woman go, Clark. Any girl that can eat like that and still look like a _super_model is worth the effort." Clark grinned, the joke from earlier between the two of them, and nodded as he turned out of his old friend's grip.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Lois," Pete then said as he took Lois' hand and kissed it lightly again. "I hope to hear from you soon."

"I daresay you shall," Lois said in parting.

A visit to the counter to pay for their lunch, Clark and Lois were outside again. And after a quick visit to the auto parts shop they both agreed to go back to the farm. The way back in the car had been in silence. Lois would never say it out loud, but it was one of the best lunches she had had in a while.

Martha met them as they entered the house. "Ah, there you are. I've been wondering where you went," she said as she put the finishing touches to the apple pie she was making, putting it in the oven.

"Y-yeah, I showed Lois around town," Clark started, but was, as usual, interrupted by his co-worker.

"We had lunch, where we met a friend of Clark's, Pete. And guess what I found out!" She halted for just a second, and Martha was only able to raise an eyebrow at her son before she continued. "Clark is friends with Deputy Mayor Ross of Metropolis! Who would've seen that coming? And you know what the worst part is?"Again Martha only had time to shake her head. "Clark never told me! Can you believe it? If I'd known I could've had an interview last week!" Lois fumbled for her cell phone, and stood up, dialling a number too fast for Martha's eyes to follow.

The petite reported excused herself as she walked out to the back yard, but both Martha and Clark, the latter not using his sensitive hearing, could hear the start of the conversation. "Perry. It's Lois. You'll never believe what I've been able to arrange—"

Martha's grey eyes sought her son's blues. He shrugged, as if saying; 'I didn't know', which was not completely a lie. He leaned backwards in his seat and turned on the television, switching it to the news channel. He was not a journalist for naught. With it came the images of a volcano eruption in South-East Asia, lava and flying rocks everywhere, people trying to escape for their lives. He looked at his mother and sighed.

"I... I have to go," he said and stood up, one hand holding his back.

"Sweetheart, I—" She looked at him with a very worried expression and he knew instantly what she was about to say.

"No, I know, mom. But I can't just let this happen. I'm the only one who can help save many lives." With that he sped upstairs, trying not to let the pain of the kryptonite wound get the better of him. He had to set it aside to be able to protect many of them from dying.

Martha left her cleaning for what it was and sat down in front of the television, to see 'Superman' appear to the rescue. The same time Lois walked in, hanging up the phone as she sat down next to Martha, who did not even register her doing so; her eyes were glued to the screen.

"Oh, wow! What's that?" she asked, but got her answer as the reporter, flying in a helicopter above the drama, said: "This is unbelievable. Superman just rescued thousands of people from being buried in lava. As it seems he's now trying to cool it down with his—"

Lois' mouth fell open at the terror of the situation, then suddenly seemed to realise they were one man short. "Hey, where's Clark?"

The name of her son brought Martha's attention to Lois. "Oh... he's upstairs, um... gathering his... things," she said off-handedly. "He'll be back down... when he's done."

"Shouldn't we help him? You know, since he hasn't been feeling well and—"

Lois was interrupted by the commentators in the studio, who were still following Superman's actions.

"Wow, it could have gone so differently. I, for one, am glad that he came back; otherwise a lot of people would've died. I can imagine those people there are very grateful for it," said one.

"These people are lucky," another replied. "But what about when the twin towers were struck? And the Pentagon?"

Lois snorted at that. True, it probably would have gone differently if Superman had been there. And at the time her opinion was comparable. It happened shortly after Jason was born and that was where her resentment for the Man of Steel had started, confused about why he had left, where he had gone, when or if he would ever come back.

They were now showing footage of Superman struggling his way through the debris of the disaster he had not been able to avoid, the commentators still discussing all things Superman. Struggling was the right word, Lois thought. She had seen him make a public appearance only once after he had visited her at her house that night, but had not been able to get a hold of him. After a few days not having seen him she started to wonder if he had left. But soon after he had appeared when a building, damaged from the quake after the rising of Luthor's 'New Krypton', had started to collapse. It was then that she really, and truly, realised that Superman had, in fact, almost died. Not that she had forgiven him for leaving, just like that, without any prior notice, more than five years ago. Not even close.

For a few minutes she watched Martha glued to watching the television, which looked to her like it had been made in the middle ages. She noticed, ever since she had some to join, the elder woman had not taken her eyes off the ancient device, nor had she said anything while intensively monitoring Superman's every move. She snorted mentally. It was almost as if Superman was Martha's other son, instead of a super humanoid being from another planet.

She frowned when she saw Superman lift the roof of a building. Was he having trouble lifting it? His body did not show it, because he muscles hardly tensed, but his faced was strained, as if this sole action of lifting the roof took every ounce of strength he had. Even the reporter in the helicopter, now speaking again, seemed to notice it. But Lois lost all interest in what he was saying or what anyone else for that matter. Her focus was on the man she had loved, hated and condemned for leaving her without a word. The man with whom she now shared a son, a bond deeper than anything she could have ever imagined, and the man that looked so human, lying, helpless and vulnerable, in the hospital bed.

It seemed ages before Superman was done with everything he could do. Landing on the ground next to all the collapsed building and volcano remainders, he politely nodded to the reporters who wanted to talk to him, but did not grace their questions with a reply. Instead he looked right into the camera and saw something she had never seen before... exhaustion, utter naked exhaustion. Only seconds later he was up in the air and out of sight.

A sigh behind her startled Lois out of her shocked state and turned to see Clark standing behind her, leaning against the couch, apparently having seen what happened. And he seemed none too happy about it.

Martha had seen it too. Her son, her only child, was in pain and not _just_ physical. She had always known how much it hurt him to see many people dying and families torn apart. He had chosen to play the role of a saviour, though greatly motivated by his long-deceased biological parents. They had had long conversations in the past and she knew how all the troubles of the world wearied him. He literally carried the world on his shoulders. They had often joked about it, but the way he looked into the camera had the alarm bells ringing in Martha's mind.

She knew the moment he flew away out of sight that he had returned and turned around at his sigh. Remembering Lois next to her, it took everything not to leap up and sweep him into a tight embrace. Instead she offered him a worried smile.

"Clark!" she heard Lois say, though not entirely registering the words. "You scared me out of my wits! Don't do that."

"I'm... I'm sorry, Lois. I..." He trailed off and Martha saw him lose colour as he tightened his grip on the couch.

"Did you see that?" Lois continued. "There was a volcano eruption in South-East Asia. Good thing Superman was there or else—"

Before Lois could finish her sentence, Martha saw Clark's eyes lose their focus before they closed entirely and he slid to the floor, only a miracle preventing him from taking the couch down with him. In an instant she was up and by his side, carefully positioning his head on her lap. It felt so much like when she had found him, after his space ship had landed in the field after returning from Krypton almost two weeks ago. This time there was one big difference. This time it was certainly not exhaustion, this time the cause was the Kryptonite shrapnel, or perhaps the remains of it, with which Lex Luthor had tried to kill him only a week ago. She faintly heard Lois call her son's name.

**...To Be Continued...**

_And there you have it! Up next... Will Lois find out or...?_


	6. Chapter 6

_July 24, 2012: Corrected some minor errors._

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><p><em>Author's Note (March 18,2012): I'm sorry for the long wait! I got many reviews asking me to 'update, update, update!'. So, here we are. This part was a bitch to write, and, as well as the previous part, I'll rewrite it at some point. Life got in the way, and the difficulty of the chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and I hope you will still enjoy it.<em>

_I got questions when Lois will find out about Clark being Supes. The answer is: 'I don't know, but not yet.' Muwhahaha! I don't want her to find out too soon. It'll probably happen while I'm writing it, at the most unsuspecting moment. Okidoki, all done!_

**-The Mystery of Clark Kent-**

He felt as if he was swirling, floating around in a place without gravity. Not that he was not used to defying gravity; he was after all Superman, the man who could fly... amongst other things. But not like this. It was almost the same feeling when he had fallen from the cliff off Luthor's island into the underlying sea. But this time there was no bold man grinning at him, bidding him a malicious farewell. But the feeling of floating, slowly sinking in the dark salty water, drowning, was not unlike how he felt at this moment. He felt detached, for the lack of another word. Nothing seemed important; not the world that lay heavily on his shoulders; not his failed trip to Krypton to find the remains of the dead civilisation he hailed from; not his work at the Daily Planet; not Lois, who was probably never going to marry Richard, nephew of Chief Editor Perry White; not his mother who loved him more than he could ever know... not even his own son. Everything seemed so insignificant. But deep within he everything had shaped him into who he was. And at the same time he knew he could never live without any of them.

He thought he heard someone call his name, but he could not be certain. The darkness was threatening to suck him back into oblivion. But the voice—no, he could swear there were two—kept insisting to come back. It called his name and there was a familiarity to it he could not ignore. Familiar indeed, but his mind could not recall who this person was. If only he could remember.

* * *

><p>Lois was close to hysterics. The last few weeks had been beyond the unusual. More important, they had not been happy weeks. And now this. Was it something she did? It almost seemed that it was. Her arms hurt from lifting an unconscious Clark on the couch. Clark was a big man, no doubt. Lois had always thought of him being around six two and about two hundred pounds. For two women to lift him it could not be easy, especially when those two hundred pounds were dead weight.<p>

That was where her—and Martha's too of course—concerns lay. The lack of response from Clark's end was deeply disconcerting. She could not remember a time when Clark was ill or even not feeling well. And now he was lying on the too-small couch, not moving, apart from the rise and fall of his chest—and that scared her more than she had thought.

She had suggested calling a doctor, but Martha insisted that was not necessary. She had not mentioned it anymore, but it stayed on her mind that it was the wise thing to do. But of course Martha would act in her son's best interest, but still Lois did not understand. He looked ill to her. His face was ashen, a fine sheet of sweat covered him and his breathing was erratic. And there was nothing she could do for him.

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><p>The voices he could not identify steadily grew in volume and closer by. Why could he not remember? His life before Superman; the memories were foggy, like there all were just a dream. And then you would wake up and unable to exactly what happened, just the outlines of the dream.<p>

Clark did, however, remember he pulled debris from an ocean of red 'syrup-like' water. The screams and the heat had almost overwhelmed him. Lifting a big block of concrete, normally easier than lifting a building or an island —he wondered where that came from— seemed to fight back against his untempered strength. Then an explosion, more screams and crying people, and in the blink of an eye he was there, body on fire, pain spreading from his back. He could not help but groan.

* * *

><p>"Martha!" Lois called to the elder woman, who had retreated to the kitchen again to finish what she had been doing in the first place, with the knowledge there was nothing she could do now that her son was still unconscious. "I think he's waking up."<p>

Martha abruptly halted her movements, dropping the cloth she held on the counter and hurried back to the living room. Lois had stopped pacing and sat down on the recliner, next to the couch, at Clark's head. She noticed Clark's restlessness, the way his hands slowly clenched and unclenched, breathing irregular and increasingly distressed, and his eyes rolling beneath his still closed eyelids. Martha sat down on her knees and ran a hand through her son's hair while the other one rested lightly on his chest.

"Clark," she softly called to him. "Come sweetie, wake up. I know you can do it."

Lois watched the elder woman, and it reminded her of the time when she did similar things when her own little boy was ill. It had been about a year ago when Jason suddenly had a violent asthma attack and had been rushed to the hospital. She had sat by the hospital bed, watching him sleep, holding his head. She had been telling him about all kinds of things; how worried they were, how they would do fun activities together once he was all better, and how the doctors had said he would be fine, while they had not been able to tell anything yet. It was ironic that the only thing he later remembered, or perhaps had wanted to remember, was the promise they would have fun together. A few days later Jason had been much recovered and could go home. It took a couple of months before she and Richard were able to carry it out. But Jason made sure they could not forget the entire time.

Thinking about it made Lois smile. She was a busy woman, but she would always have time for her own little munchkin. Seeing Martha interacting, though at the moment it was pretty much one-sided, with her own son made Lois proud of doing such a good job with Jason. Martha, she reckoned, acted like a real caring mother, not so much unlike howshe took care of Jason, as far as the reporter could tell. Of course, Clark was not a five-almost-six-year old. He was a grown man, though sometimes he did notact like one. At least, he could be just as naive and child-like as Jason.

Her attention was drawn back to her colleague as helet out a soft sound of discomfort. Martha's hands both moved upwards to cup his face.

"Clark... Clark, honey, can you hear me?" she called to him. But there was still no reaction. He seemed to be lost in a world of his own, not able to break out of it. Lois could not be sure how much time had passed, but eventually he started to whisper and the sheen of sweat on his face increased. Lois could not understand what he was saying, it was too soft. Waking would not be far off though. His whispers became louder and eventually Lois could make out some words.

"No... Don't you... dare—" Lois leaned in a little closer. "—hurt... them... I'll... find—" Clark drew a breath and stopped his whispering, eyes opening for a split second, before closing again.

Martha spoke again. "Come, dear. Please wake up. I'm here for you."

At her words his eyes opened again, just by a slit. Martha touched his face again. "Clark...?" She tried again. But he did not seem to see her, alien blue eyes staring at nothing. She grabbed his shirt with both hands and shook him gently. He took in a sharp breath and blinked. This time his eyes showed awareness and lucidity. He looked at his mother, confused, through his eyelashes.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

It took a while before he answered, his facial expression blank, but eyes thoughtful. As if he needed to think about how he felt, as if he was not entirely aware of what had happened.

At length he spoke, though it was not more than a raspy whisper. "Like... I've lifted an island into space... and fell down six thousand miles..."

Lois, still behind him, snorted. "Hah! Just awake and already joking, Smallville, you must be doing better than you look!" She had no idea thathis statement had been the truth. She did sober up, and sat down next to him, as he already tried to sit up, not succeeding as he was still groggy and his back hurt like he was stabbed all over again. His glasses, which had miraculously remained in place, now slid down halfway his nose. Martha gently pushed him back into the couch.

"Nuh-uh-uh! You stay where you are. Rest a bit before your decide to take on the world," she said sternly as she pushed the offending glasses up his nose.

Lois was at a loss for something to say. "So," she started, and then stopped to think. "What was that all about?" She grinned at a thought. "I thought I was the one known to be fainting." It had been an inside joke, ever since that fateful first rescue.

He gave her a faint smile that did not reach his eyes. Then he tried to sit up again, this time more careful, and half succeeded this time. Instinctively Lois reached out to help him. Martha took this as a cue to leave the room. She would speak with her son later.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, Lois," he breathed. "I guess I just hoped everything would be fine over the weekend and—"

"Hey, don't worry about it," she interrupted. "I mean, up until now it's been great. Your mom has been the perfect hostess and meeting one of your old friends, who, no less, is the deputy mayor, and hear all these embarrassing and gross details about your younger years—"

"Gross?" Now it was Clark who did the interrupting.

"Yeah, whatever, just a manner of speaking. A very nice guy, I can't believe you never talked about him. And maybe you should take up on his offer to reacquaint yourself with your lady friend, huh?"

"Lois, I—"

"I'm just kidding. Don't you see I'm trying to lighten the mood here?" She grinned, then sobered again. "Because getting to know you better is not the only reason I came with you."

He had closed his eyes again, because frankly, the action of sitting up had robbed him of almost all his strength. He could not help panting as if he had run a hundred miles, had he been human. But more than anything, he felt very human now.

He felt Lois' hand on his arm as she leaned in closer for support. "Clark? Are you okay?"

He was so frustrated with himself, he wanted to shout; 'Of course I'm not okay, Lois! Remember, I got stabbed with a five inch long spike of Kryptonite; I lifted an island full of the same rock up in space and almost died trying! You tell me if I should be okay!'

But of course that was so un-Superman-like. Or even un-Clark-like. And so he kept the words to himself. Not that he could have shouted anyway, since breathing in itself was a struggle. Eventually he managed a breathless, "I'm alright."

Lois stayed in close proximity and sat down on the ground, next to the couch. "The reason why I came with you..." She drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Since what happened with Lex Luthor and Superman, I've had this feeling I needed to get away from the complexity of it all. I don't expect you to understand, but—"

Clark understood completely what she meant by 'the complexity', but he could not tell her what he knew without exposing himself. But he was not ready to do that. It was a miracle she had not caught up with it yet. He just watched her, as she continued her monologue.

"—I wanted to have a chance to talk to you, without people interrupting or interfering. I haven't been really nice to you the past week. Well, _ever_, I guess." She sighed and pulled her lips to one side in a small frown. Then she looked up into Clark's eyes that were full of compassion. "I found out something at Luthor's boat that I never even thought was possible. I found out—" Another sigh. "—Jason isn't Richard's son. Of course I knew that before he was born, but... I didn't know who else."

Clark took her hand and squeezed it gently. Lois looked at his hand on top of hers and wet her lips with her tongue, a sign of nervousness.

"Then," she continued. "Something happened on Luthor's boat. I was about to be beaten by one of Luthor's lackeys with a copper statue, and then..." She looked up at Clark, tears threatening to fall. "God, I don't know why I'm telling you this."

"Lois," Clark said breathlessly, "You know you... can tell me... anything, right?"

Another sigh. "Yes, you've been such a good friend to me, even when I wasn't one to you." Lois realised she had been sighing a lot in the past minutes, but couldn't help another sigh before she continued. "Um, I was saying... Oh yeah, I was almost hit on the head by a copper statue. Then, out of nowhere, a Concert Grand literally whooshed by." She looked up again at Clark, trying to gauge his reaction. Nothing out of the ordinary, but she definitely had his attention, his hand was still resting on hers, eyes wide with interest in her story. She could almost see the wheels in his head turning. Silence was his only reply though.

"Clark, Jason _pushed_ it!" she suddenly exclaimed.

This revelation made Clark bolt up from his lying position with a gasp. And found out that was not exactly a wise reaction the hard way. Pain spiked through his entire torso and left him panting for air.

Instantly, Lois was on her knees beside him. "Clark! Are you okay?" But he just waved her off.

"I'm fine, Lois." He carefully leaned back into the couch, regaining his bearings. Then, after a short silence, he chuckled.

"What?" Lois asked, and Clark heard a little bit of annoyance in her voice. It had been a long day and he imagined what she just told him had been hard enough without all the stress of him passing out.

He chuckled again. "I guess... that's what people mean by... dropping a bomb on someone..."

Lois joined in and chuckled too. "You can say that again."

"Um... A-are you sure? Are you sure he, um... _pushed_ it?"

She seemed lost in thought. "Pushed what?"

Clark frowned. "The piano... Are you _sure_ he pushed it? I-I mean... it was on a boat. I-it could've been, y'know, the waves and uh—"

"I know what I saw, Clark. A piano does _not_ whoosh by like it weighs nothing!"

"But, that would mean that—"

"—Jason is Superman's son."

"Gee-whiz, Lois... I don't know what to say."

Lois smiled. "You don't have to say anything. You should get some rest. This is a big enough problem as it is."

Clark nodded and laid back, closing his eyes and put his arm on his forehead.

"You can say that again."

**...To Be Continued...**


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's Note (June 24, 2012): Well... m_ost people will probably skip the author's note completely, but to those who do read it;_ I feel I have to apologise for the incredibly long delay in posting this chapter. I have been so incredibly busy with my job, my study and everything else, that I just didn't have the time to get to writing. And then I had it done, and sent it to my lovely Beta Samantha, but she was very busy too. But the fault was all mine. I promise to do better._

_So, let's get on with it, and please review. I love to receive ideas and constructive criticism._

**-The Mystery of Clark Kent-**

The rest of the evening was mostly spent in silence, a bit of chit-chat here and there. Lois had not really expected herself to confess anything of this nature to her geeky co-worker Clark 'Smallville' Kent. She had not even told Richard yet. But she knew it had to be revealed one day. Should Jason have more of these 'power displays', Richard might become suspicious. He knew Jason was not his son. He had known from the beginning. But Lois had not wanted to talk about the real father, claiming he had not wanted to recognise the child and just left. Back then she did not know there was any truth in the statement. But she had not remembered the conceiving, not remembering having had sex with anyone. She had called it Immaculate Conception, as an inside joke she only knew about.

After Lois' revelation to Clark about Superman being Jason's father, she felt better. Apart from Superman himself, no one knew. It was almost elation. Clark always made her feel she could tell him more than she could others, as if he was this sponge that would soak up all the information, without protest, and hold it within. It was rather funny, she noted, comparing Clark to a sponge. Later, in bed, she had secretly laughed about it.

Martha had busied herself in the kitchen while Lois and Clark had their talk. She had caught some pieces of the conversation, and it had shocked her more than a little to find out that Lois' son was Clark's too. When Clark was a teenager they had occasionally talked about the possibility of Clark having children. After Clark had found out, from Jor-El's database, as Clark had called it, that it was highly improbable Kryptonians and humans were compatible in terms of reproduction, they had long talks about it. Eventually Clark had resigned himself in the fact that it would probably never happen. But Martha knew that it had hurt him more than he had wanted her and Jonathan to see.

But now the seemingly impossible had happened. And she could imagine Clark being ecstatic about it. Why he had not told her puzzled her. She would have to have a long talk about it with him. Not being able to have children was hard to accept. Clark had been a gift from heaven; she had told him that at least a thousand times.

She heard a yawn and Lois saying she would go to bed. Then a call to the kitchen; "Good night Mrs.-uh, Martha."

"Good night, dear," she replied.

This was the time, and probably the only time, while he was home this weekend, she would be able to talk to him in private. As soon as she heard the footsteps on the top of the stairs —the second step from the top creaked in a particular way— she went back to the living room.

Clark was still on the couch, now half seated, legs over the arm rest, arms folded in his lap, and face drawn in fatigue.

"You gave me quite a scare."

Clark jumped at her voice, and then hissed in pain, his hand automatically reaching for his side. Martha approached him and sat on the edge of the couch, just watching him settling against the back rest of the couch.

"How are you feeling, son?" Martha asked at length, when he seemed comfortable enough. He looked at her as if saying; 'do you really need to ask?' but then sighed.

"He doesn't swear, and you brought me up too well to even try it in front of you." He pursed his lips and his brows drew together into a frown. "But heck, if it would make me feel better..." He trailed of and Martha could not help but smile slightly. He would never say the name of his alter ego. But they would always know what he was referring to.

"It's so frustrating. The kryptonite is gone, I'm sure of it. I would've felt it. I should be getting better. But instead I feel weak and lightheaded."

"Clark, sweetheart, listen to me." She took her son's hand with her right and her left hand cupped his cheek. "If I had the answers, I would give them to you in a heartbeat. If I had the cure, God knows I would heal you. But, doing what any good mother would do, I'll give you the only advice I possibly can. Rest. And be patient. I'm sure you will either feel better soon or find the answer within you."

Clark chuckled. "Patience has never been my strong suit. If _he_ ever told the world that, they would not believe it. He's the model of patience, and yet..." Then a thought struck him. "What about tomorrow? I need to get all my furniture and belongings packed in my truck. I—"

Martha held up her hand. "Let people help. Ben will be over tomorrow, and Lois is here. _I_ am here. Let us _help_ you."

The look on his face was one that Martha knew all too well. It was one of unwilling resignation, wanting to argue, but knowing he would never win. Not even the Man of Steel himself could win from his mother. Because, as usual, she was right. And he hated it. And she knew he hated it. This made him hate it even more...

The next morning Lois woke up with the sun shining in through the window, right in her face. With a groan she turned to get away from the light. It was no use, it was everywhere. Groaning she peeked from under the quilt to the clock on the wall adjacent of the bed. Six o'clock in the morning. What was farm life doing to her? Yesterday up at five-thirty, today six...

_Thank heaven it's Sunday,_ she thought as she swung the coverings from her body and sat up. Not that she really minded being on the farm. She had grown rather fond of the fresh air, the birds chirping outside the window, that rooster... _No way, never the rooster..._ Come to think of it, she had not heard it yet. She wondered if Clark finally put it out of its misery. She walked towards the bedroom door and picked up Clark's bathrobe from the chair as she passed it, putting it on. It was very soft, almost fluffy.

On her way down the stairs the smell of freshly baked bread filled her nostrils. Lois inhaled the sweet smell. Bread never smelled like this in the city. Quickly she covered the last of the steps into the kitchen, where she found Martha busying herself making breakfast.

"That smells wonderful, Martha."

Martha turned halfway to greet Lois back, but continuing her task. "Good morning, Lois. I had not expected you yet. Clark told me the city folk like to sleep in on Sundays."

Lois just grinned. It was true. After a week's worth of hard work people in the city would use the Sunday to sleep late and spend their day out in one of the many parks that covered the city. She sat down at the kitchen counter as Martha poured a cup of coffee and handed it to her. After a 'thank you', Lois looked around as if in search for something, or more accurately, in search of some_one_.

"Where's Clark?" Lois wondered out loud. Ever since what happened the night before, he had been in her thoughts almost constantly. She had been very worried about him. She could not remember Clark Kent ever being ill. He had never missed a day of work. Sure, he would late, or early for that matter, leave at the strangest of times. But she also remembered all the late nights he spent at the Planet getting a story done. To call Clark a workaholic was an understatement. But then again, so was she.

Martha flipped an egg in the frying pan and bent her neck sideways to look out of the window next to the stove. "Oh, he's outside. He has been since sunrise."

Lois picked up the coffee mug and took it with her outside, where her co-worker was leaning on the fence of the corn field, appearing to be staring at nothing. He looked as if in trance and she dared not to disturb him while he was revelling in the sunlight. She noticed he was barefoot, even though it was early October, and she had to repress a shiver at the crisp air. Clutching the hot coffee mug, she drew up the bathrobe to her chin.

As he stood there against the fence, Lois thought back of the last few days she had spent with him and his mother. She had known her clumsy co-worker for a long time. If she remembered it correctly, about four years before he left to explore the world. But she had never had the opportunity to see him in his 'natural habitat'. She snickered inside. This could definitely be described as his natural habitat. On a more serious note, she had noticed he was very different when he was home, away from the bustling city. After two days, he still had not dropped or bumped into anything. He was still shy, silent, well-mannered, with a speech deficit, but there was definitely something off. What frustrated her was that she could not pinpoint exactly what was off.

And now it was the last day and tomorrow everything would be back to normal. She would get in the car with Clark back to Metropolis, the too long drive she was not in the least excited about. Perhaps she could have a longer conversation with him this time. It always seemed their conversations were either cut short because of an interruption by someone else or they just got stuck after a few word exchanges, usually her fault. She knew she was known to have a very short concentration span. And especially with Clark, she had noticed over the last weeks, she just could not stay interested in what he had to say. And, now that she thought about it, it was very unfair to him. She did not know anything about his travels around the world, except that he had gone alone, without any means of contact, and something about llamas. It was something Jimmy could not shut up about. Apparently it was something funny. Making a mental note about it, she would have to ask him about it for sure.

She came back to the present as she saw that the subject of her thoughts had turned around to face her, with a small smirk on his face. Apparently her eyes had been staring at him, although unseeing. How long he had been staring back at her?

"Like what you see?" he said, that infuriating smirk still on his face. Was he flirting?

Lois scoffed. "Oh, stuff it, Clark. I was just admiring the sunrise, which happened to be right where you're standing." She walked towards him, still holding the coffee mug, now against her chest. She took her place next to Clark, leaning her behind against the fence. Clark straightened, body still facing the now completely risen sun. He rested his hands on said fence, not taking his eyes of his female counterpart.

"So," Lois began. "Feeling better today?"

Clark nodded. "Yeah, much."

"I guess you needed a good night's sleep, huh?"

He grunted in agreement. "I guess."

She took a sip from her coffee, which had cooled down considerably by now. "I'm sorry about last night, by the way."

He looked confused, his eyebrows rising up to his hairline. "S-sorry for what?"

"Well, y'know..." The petite reported fingered the ear of her coffee mug, slightly nervous about the direction of the conversation. "...About what I told you."

Clark sighed. "Lois, listen. There is really nothing to be s-sorry for. You, you know I, uh, will always listen to you. You can always talk to me. You know that, right? You know me..." He made a gesture of zipping his mouth shut, sealing it with an invisible key and throwing it away, and it almost made Lois laugh out loud. Only the seriousness of the conversation prevented her. She did allow herself a smile.

"You're too good for me, Smallville. I don't deserve you as a friend."

He smiled back at her and the conversation died down... _As usual as of late_, Lois could not help but think.

"So..." It was not the best or the smartest way of initiating another conversation, but it was something. "What's the plan today?"

Clark looked thoughtful. "Well... Ben is c-coming over soon. Apparently I, uh, I'm not allowed to do anything in my, um... 'condition'." He accentuated 'condition' by putting both his hands in the air, suggesting quotation marks with his fingers. "You know how mothers are."

At this Lois couldn't hold in her laughter, bending slightly forward as she did so.

"I know _exactly_ what you mean," she hiccupped between giggles. "Remember, I'm a mother too."

Clark smiled at her as she got her laughter under control, managing to face him again. Then she shivered involuntarily.

"Maybe we should go back inside," Clark offered. "It smells like breakfast is ready."

At the prospect of food Lois' stomach started grumbling in anticipation. "Well, I guess I can't say no to that."

Being the gentleman, Clark let Lois lead the way, and lagged behind a bit, looking wistfully at the sun, that had now risen above the trees in the distance.

He had not slept well last night. He was bone-weary, but the events of a week ago weighed heavy on his mind. Fortunately the world seemed to give Superman some respite from his duties. He only had to go out twice, for a building that threatened to collapse in Metropolis, and for an after-shock in South-East Asia, where he had been the previous evening, before his fainting spell afterwards.

Back in bed, he had tried closing his eyes, clear his head, but sleep did not come until just before sunrise. I could not have slept more than an hour. And his body, especially in the state it was in, did not appreciate it. He would pay the price for it one way or another.

Sighing, he noticed Lois had stopped and watched him intently, a strange expression on her face he could not place, and started after her.

**...To Be Continued...**

_Muawhahahahahaaaa! Still no revealing yet! My plan for the story changed... to what? You'll see in the next parts._


End file.
